Planning a Kitchen That Works

People judge a kitchen at bench height, but they plan it at floor level. Before you choose a stone or a handle, work out how you cook, where things live and how people move through the room. This guide covers zones, layout, storage, benchtops and lighting, in the order those decisions get locked in.

SECTION K–K | LEVEL: BENCH | ISLAND AND OPEN SHELVING | REFERENCE IMAGE

01 — ZONES

Store, prep, cook and clean, placed in the order you work.

02 — LAYOUT

Island or galley, depending on the room’s width and how you share it.

03 — STORAGE & BENCHTOPS

Joinery that fits what you own, and surfaces that suit how you use them.

04 — TASK LIGHTING

Light on the work surface first, then the pendants.

LEVEL — FLOOR

Start with work zones, not cabinets

Most kitchens do four jobs: storing food, preparing it, cooking it and cleaning up. Map them in the order you actually use them. Put the fridge and pantry near where the shopping comes in. Leave clear bench space beside the sink for prep. Keep the cooktop close, but don’t squeeze it into a corner.

Then add the traffic. In an open-plan Sydney home, the kitchen is often the way through to the back door, the laundry or the deck. If that route cuts between the sink and the cooktop, someone will always be in the way. Our Space Planning service settles these routes before anyone draws the joinery.

LEVEL — PLAN

Island or galley?

Neither layout is better. The right one depends on the room you have and whether you cook alone or with others.

LAYOUT A — ISLAND

A second work face that turns you towards the room

An island adds bench space and somewhere to sit. It also needs clear space on every side so drawers can open and people can pass behind the cook. Decide early whether it will hold the sink, the cooktop or neither, because plumbing and exhaust fix the plan.

Suits: open-plan rooms with width to spare.

LAYOUT B — GALLEY

Everything within a turn and a step

Two parallel runs keep the work tight, which is why galleys suit terraces and apartments so well. The trade-off is a narrower walkway and less room to share. A window at the end or a short return bench can open the space up.

Suits: narrow rooms, apartments and cooks who work alone.

LEVEL — BENCH

Storage and benchtops

Drawers below, reach above, nothing lost in the corner.

01 List what you own. Plan storage around your pots, appliances and pantry goods, not a catalogue’s standard sizes. That list is where Custom Joinery Design begins.

02 Favour deep drawers under the bench. They bring the contents to you, where doors make you kneel and reach.

03 Solve corners and appliances early. Blind corners, integrated fridges and a place for the toaster are much easier to get right on paper than on site.

04 Choose benchtops for how you use them. Stone, timber, stainless steel and engineered surfaces differ in how they handle heat, stains and knocks. They also age differently, from a softening patina to something that stays unchanged.

05 Review samples together. Look at the benchtop, splashback, cabinet finish and floor side by side, in your own light. That’s the heart of Colour & Material Selection.

LEVEL: CEILING | PENDANTS OVER THE ISLAND | REFERENCE IMAGE

LEVEL — CEILING

Light the bench, not just the room

Ceiling downlights set behind you throw your shadow straight onto the chopping board. Task lighting fixes this. Place it under the overhead cabinets or shelves, or position it so it falls just in front of the bench edge. Pendants over an island add warmth and mark the gathering spot, but they rarely light the work on their own.

Plan circuits so each layer can be switched separately: bright for cooking, softer when the kitchen becomes part of the living room at night. Wiring runs through the joinery, so settle the lighting while the cabinetry is still being drawn. Read more in Layered Lighting for Sydney Homes, or see our Lighting & Finishes service.

LEVEL — NEXT

Before you brief a kitchen

— Existing plans, or a sketch with room measurements

— Photos of the kitchen from each corner, including the ceiling

— A list of appliances you’re keeping and ones you want to add

— How many people cook at once, and who sits at the bench

Bring these to a Kitchen Design consultation. We can take the plan through 3D Interior Visualisation and Design Documentation, so your builder and cabinetmaker work from the same drawings.